On Fitness: It’s Your Hair, Or Your Life

It really is that simple. It took a minute, but once I stripped the issue down to its core, it became easy to cut through all my crap excuses, decide in favor of my life, and move on.

Healthy, vibrant women get that way by sweating. Profusely. Several times a week. In doing so, their hair gets damp, drenched, frizzy, flattened, out of sorts. For those with humidity-resistant hair, this is typically a non-issue. (Wash and go, done and done.) For others with different hair types and textures, it can mean the regular undoing of an hours-long process. Regardless, all accept that this is a small price to pay for feeling, looking and moving better than they ever thought possible. So they make the best of it, walk with an assortment of ties, clips, headbands, etc., and otherwise learn to deal. In short, they keep it moving. Under no circumstances do they stop working out. They choose life.

Others, I’ve accepted, will make a different choice. The whys don’t really matter in this context, because they are dwarfed by more critical concerns. (And the disease/mortality statistics which underscore them.) And while we care for and encourage others where we can, we also know that ultimately people decide to alter course only when they’re ready. As we’ve seen, no amount of mounting medical evidence, stricken relatives, friends’ pleas or even their own personal health scares can move them to act until…well, until they decide. Many of us have been there, so let’s bypass judgement in favor of empathy, respect that this is their choice for now, and move on.

Besides, this post is not for, or about, them.

It’s for you.

You’re here because you’ve already said yes. Yes to a body that works, instead of just exists. Yes to aging strong, vibrant and beautiful. Yes to a future free from being stuffed into industrial-strength shapewear like an encased sausage. If you’ve chosen life over hair, you’ve adopted an Alpha-like mindset to sidestep petty distractions and solve problems to your benefit. And Alphas don’t tolerate a situation where their hair is controlling or managing them (instead of the other way around), to the detriment of their health.

So get out there, and sweat. As often as you can. Understand that there are no winners in the contest for Corpse With Best Hair award. Only, sadly, unwitting losers who needlessly shave years off their lives, create senseless pain and loss for their loved ones, and deprive the world at large of their special gifts, far too soon.

The question we all need to ask ourselves: What hairstyle is worth all that?

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